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1963 Map of Prater

Name: 1963 Topographic Map of Prater
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1964
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1964

About this map

The Russell Fork and Russell Prater Creek carve through the deep hollows of the Cumberland Plateau in this 1963 survey of the Virginia highlands. The map centers on the small mountain community of Prater at the junction of several drainage branches, illustrating a landscape where roads like the Jeb Stuart Highway are forced to follow the winding path of the river valleys. The border between Dickenson and Buchanan Counties meanders across these ridges, passing notable landmarks such as Butcherknife and Painter Lick.

Local history is preserved through numerous family-named sites and institutions that served these isolated hollows. Researchers can locate the Upper Greenbrier Sch and Little Fox Sch, alongside rural congregations at Pilgrims Home Ch. The map is particularly rich for genealogists, recording a high density of small cemeteries including the Raines Cem, Coleman Cem, and Ratcliff Cem, often situated on the high ground of Rakes Ridge or near settlements like Viers and Leemaster.